Star Wars Episode 9 The Balance of the Force
by dannyhawman
Summary: Last Jedi was an absolute train wreck. If you were anything like the author here, you began to question whether things like "light speed" attacking other ships could ever be corrected. Could the horrific choreography in the "throne room" battle scene be fixed? Here the author finds a way to solve some of these problems while telling an exciting version of what SW 9 could be! Enjoy


**Star Wars**

Episode IX

**The Balance of the Force**

A Fan Fiction by

Daniel Hawman

It is a dark time for the Resistance.

Leia Organa has died from persistent

complications of space exposure. Her

passing has left the Resistance without

a leader. Preparations are being made for

a memorial service and celebration of her life.

WIth her final act as Leader and upon her deathbed,

Leia Organa issued a pardon to Poe Dameron, once a

hero of the Resistance. Dameron was serving 5 years in

a military prison after pleading guilty of disobeying orders,

mutiny and conspiracy. As part of his plea deal, Dameron's

co conspirators Finn and Rose had their charges dismissed.

Jedi Knight Rey, who has hardly left Leia's side in the past 2 years,

departed with the mighty Chewbacca aboard the Millennium Falcon

within moments of Leia's passing. Their location is currently unknown.

Meanwhile, the First Order has been quietly gaining strength in the far unknown

regions. Kylo Ren has begun to gather an army he believes will be more powerful

than any since before the Galactic Empire's reign. Rumors grow of a new clone army.

**Chapter 1**

The holographic image of a young Leia Organa Solo towers above the small crowd gathered in her memory. The image changes every 30 seconds to a different stage of Leia's life. A large stone base formed from mined mineral remains of the planet Alderaan stands 6 feet tall and projects each hologram skyward 15 to 20 feet. Mounted to the stone is a large plaque reading "In Memory of Freedom's Greatest Advocate, Heroine and Leader, Leia Organa Solo. General. Senator. Princess of Alderaan. She is One with the Force and the Force is with Us."

In the back of the crowd stands a hooded figure. Even with the details of his face hidden in shadow it is obvious that he is emotional. He wipes at tears, when suddenly his arm is seized. His eyes fill with fear as he turns to look into the eyes of his friend Finn.

Poe?!" Finn exclaims with excitement.

Poe pauses only for a moment, but quickly shakes his head and, pulling his arm from the grip of his only remaining friend, pushes through the edges of the crowd and quickly disappears into a nearby alley.

Finn starts after him, but is stopped by a gentle squeeze of his other hand. He turns to see Rose and her pleading eyes. "Let him go" she soothes, "he needs time." Finn hesitates, but Rose interlocks her fingers with his and pulls him back to her side. "You can find him later my love. I promise." She raises up on her toes and kisses Finn on the cheek, an act that softens his expression.

Finn moves behind Rose and wraps his arms around her, pulls her back tight to his chest and they return their attention to the front of the crowd where C3PO has begun to share first hand accounts of some of Leia's most amazing life stories, complete with sound effects.

**Chapter 2**

On a distant planet within the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, General Hux walks down a long corridor lined with various iterations of clone and stormtrooper armor. Two red guards in sweeping capes and bearing elegant spears that almost appear as decorative, though Hux knows perfectly well of their deadly nature, step to the side as the door slides open. Hux tries to hide his emotions as he moves into the chambers of "Lord" Ren.

In recent months Ren has insisted that the title of Supreme Leader be discontinued and that proper references to his excellency would be "Lord" for formal or public situations and that he would be dropping Kylo and replacing it with "Darth". Darth Ren. Hux had studied the term and discovered that it had deep traditional ties to the ancient Sith, and Kylo's pairing of that title with his chosen name of Ren seems to be a great symbolic merging to the Dark Lord.

Hux moves past the large observation windows and approaches Darth Ren whose hooded figure faces away from him and gazes out the primary window overlooking the production facility.

"You are still nervous around me General." Ren speaks softly.

"Yes, my Lord." Hux's voice almost cracks.

"Why?"

"My Lord, it took me several weeks to fully recover from my last error in questioning your judgement."

"That was months ago General. You have proven your loyalty since then. I welcome your counsel and I now trust that you honor and respect my power and vision."

"I do, my Lord."

"Then let us agree. You are my most trusted General and you should not live in fear of my rath, so long as you do not question my decisions publically. However, in these private chambers, I request that you speak your mind openly and promise that you may do so with absolute confidence. Is that agreeable?"

"Yes Lord Ren."

"Excellent. Now tell me Hux, what do you think of my new mask?" Ren removes the hood of his cloak and turns to face Hux. "Is it...worthy of my power and strength? Be honest."

A black helmet covers the top of Ren's head then sweeps down and flares slightly outward in the back and sides, reminding Hux of images of Darth Vader. The mask itself, however, is quite different and is formed of a dark silver metal. It has dark menacing eyes in the shape of thin slits that angle in an angry expression beneath a strong brow. The lower portion of the mask features exaggerated cheekbones and deep cheeks that make the center of the mask prominent and a black vertical section begins in a point at the bridge of the nose and gradually widens to each side of the chin. The metal is intricately carved with decorative workmanship of swirls and spirals giving sharp contrast of dark and light in the metal.

"It is impressive my Lord. A unique and, dare I say, intimidating design." Hux struggles to find the words, "I have never seen its equal Lord Ren."

Darth Ren stands motionless and the silence stretches on prompting Hux to speak again.

"May I inquire, Lord Ren, about the design?"

"Of course, it is comprised of a few ancient designs from the history of the Sith, with particular homage to Darth Revan, Darth Vader and Sith Lord Andraas. These powerful Lords of the Sith each have inspired my new vision for the First Order."

"My Lord, what became of 'Let the past die'?"

Ren nods slightly, and turns back to the observation window. "Yes. A foolish notion. I have come to realize my mistake in dismissing the past so completely. As I have studied the teachings of the Sith, I have become more powerful and more filled with the force. I now understand that it is my destiny to reclaim the rightful place of the Sith as rulers and keepers of peace in the Galaxy. I embrace my past, my heritage and only then can I reach the potential of my future. I have become more powerful than any Sith in history."

"I see my Lord. Then I believe that this design is absolutely worthy of your strength and power."

Hux says with an apparent growth in respect for his master.

"Thank you General. Now, tell of our progress in growing the drones."

"Yes, my Lord, the "drones" as you cleverly call them, are improving with each phase. We believe that this latest batch is prepared for the battle test that you have proposed for them. Are you certain, My Lord, that you wish to face 5 of them at once?"

"Yes."

Hux hesitates, "Very well, my Lord. We can have them ready in a few hours."

"Good."

"If you would like to see the final design, I can load it into the holo projector."

"Please."

Hux moves to the large console in the center of the room and inserts a metallic disk into a port. Instantly, a life size three dimensional projection of a "man" appears above the console. He stands nearly 7 feet tall, with mechanical limbs and armor of a droid, but the face and chest of a man.

"As you can see, my Lord, we have successfully combined the droid and clone technologies and kept the best strengths of each. The mind, heart and senses of a human warrior matched with the strength, durability and accuracy of a machine. In our current tests, they have performed flawlessly. The cognitive capabilities are within 2% of the original subject's scores, and their physical powers have exceeded all previous droids on record. Your vision, my Lord, seems to be fulfilled."

"We shall see."

**Chapter 3**

The Millenium Falcon comes out of hyperspace and begins the descent towards the planet below. The planet is covered in water but small green islands appear on the horizon.

Chewbacca gives a long soft growl.

"I know, I didn't expect to come back to Ach-to either, but apparently there is something here that I have to find." Rey says thoughtfully.

Behind Chewbacca, sit BB-8 and R2D2. R2D2 beeps a question.

"I don't know Artoo." Rey responds, "The caretakers likely buried Luke if they found his body, but Leia and I don't think he actually 'died,' it felt more like… like he transitioned and became one with the force. It was peace. It was purposeful. I don't know how to describe it. Chewy, let's put down closer to the structures if we can. I don't expect to be here long."

Rey walks away from the Falcon into the stone village. Caretakers begin to hide and protect items from "accident prone" Rey as she passes. She makes her way through the village until she reaches Luke's dwelling, pauses only momentarily and quietly enters.

The room is neat and tidy, as if it was just cleaned that day, Luke's bed is made, his clothing folded and placed on a small shelf in the corner, and suddenly Rey notices items arranged on the desk.

Rey moves toward the desk, feeling stirring in the force. Centered on the desk is a folded piece of parchment with her name on it, and placed on that folded page, as if to hold it in place are two strange items. The largest of the items appears to be a silver compass of some kind. Rey picks it up tenderly and moves it to the side. The next item is a necklace composed of a thin leather strap and adorning the necklace is a silver cylindrical shape that looks as if it has been removed from a device of some kind. Protruding from the end of the cylinder is a dark red crystal that shimmers in the window light as Rey turns it. She places it around her neck and reaches for the note, unfolds it and reads.

_Rey,  
Bring these things with you. You will need them."_

Rey stands stunned for a moment. Then she says loudly, "Artoo, BB-8 come here please!"

The door opens as R2D2 and BB-8 push their way into the hut beeping like two caught children.

"Of course, I knew you were there!" She makes a sarcastic face and points to herself, "Jedi…."  
She waxes more serious, "Tell Chewy I was wrong. It looks like we will be here for a while."

Rey makes her way into the Jedi Temple and walks around the large mosaic in the center of the floor, moving towards the altar just outside the cave. She touches the stone and, closing her eyes, feels the force strong with the same feelings of peace that she experienced when she knew Luke was gone. She recognizes that this is the place. Her memory flashes of Leia and the time they spent meditating and drawing upon the light of the force to seek understanding. Her thoughts move to images of Leia on her deathbed, seeming peaceful, but whispering Luke's name as if she could see him. Leia had been the closest friend she had ever had and she felt a sense of sadness creep in and disrupt the peace in the force.

"Mourn for those who have become one with the Force you must not."

Rey opens her eyes with surprise and turns back to the interior chamber of the temple. A small figure of blue light stands before her. His pointy ears protrude from the sides of his head, and it seems as though he is green, though it is difficult to discern through the bright blue hue.

A taller blue figure steps into view behind the first.

"Luke." Rey whispers in shock.

Luke smiles, "Come inside we have much to discuss."

**Chapter 4**

Poe Dameron sits at the bar in the Cantina, his glass is empty except for the ice and he absent mindedly shakes it in an attempt to summon the bartender. The large alien behind the bar has chosen to ignore him as he scurries around trying to keep up with the still busy crowd. The bartender's four arms wash glasses and pour drinks simultaneously as he barks orders to the droids around him. As one of his protocol droids passes by, an older droid that has been painted with bright flowers and neon colors, the bartender grabs its arm and rolls his eyes towards Poe, "Start refilling his glass from our special shelf - no reason to waste good drink on a man who can no longer taste anything."

"Of course, sir." The droid then reaches under the bar and grabs a bottle and refills Damerons glass.

Poe begins to down the glass, while tapping on the bar for another. As the droid patiently waits to refill it, Poe quickly throws the remaining contents of his glass in the droids face . "I am not THAT drunk. Bartender!" The bartender rushes over panicked that the man is going to make a scene.

Poe points at the bartender, very aware that most of the patrons in the immediate area are staring at the two of them. "This droid of yours, just tried to scam me!" he pauses for a moment and cuts off the bartender as he begins to speak, "Either that or he has simply forgotten that my name is Poe Dameron and my drinks tonight were FREE based on the agreement you and I have. Which is it?"

Poe's threat is clear, and the bartender quickly calculates the loss of one man's tab vs the prospect of his bar emptying out for the night when people learn he serves mostly water after people are inebriated enough. "He forgot!" the bartender turns and throws a glass full of liquid directly in the droid's face, "Stupid droid! Back to work!"

The droid stands frozen for a moment, stunned and completely offended. The bartender widens his eyes slightly at the droid and in response it wipes its face with a rag, turns away and heads back to work mumbling too quietly to be heard. The bartender pours Poe and new drink and smiles hopefully at him as he sips it. Poe nods at him and his shoulders drop in relief.

Suddenly, someone bursts through the front door of the cantina and rushes straight toward the band. Finn reaches the stage and grabs the microphone from the lead singer and shouts, "Poe Dameron! Is Poe Dameron here?!"

Poe looks stunned, and starts to melt into his barstool. Everyone around Poe points at him in unison and takes a step back as if he must be infected with some rare form of Bantha Virus. Finn throws the mic back to the singer with a, "Thanks" and jumps off the stage in a dead run through the crowd towards Poe.

"Hey Pal, you're just in time, I have a free tab running!" Poe shouts as Finn draws near. The bartender starts to object, but Poe shoots him a threatening look and the he reluctantly places a second glass next to Poes and starts to pour just as Finn slides to a stop beside Dameron.

"Poe, we have to go." Finn is almost out of breath.

"Hey you can rhyme! Relax kid we got some time." Poe snorts with delight at his own joke but looking to the bartender and finding no support, he shrugs it off and takes another drink.

"Poe, listen to me! I can't talk about it here, but we have to go right now!"

"You have a driiinnnnk heeeeerrrrreeee." Dameron sings to Finn.

Finn picks up the glass and yells "You're not listening!" Then he blindly throws the contents of the glass behind the bar to his right. The colorful protocol droid stands shocked, face dripping with liquid yet again.

"Whoops." Finn turns back to Poe, "Dameron, look at me. Have I ever lied to you?"

Damerons brow furrows, beginning to realize that Finn is serious, he shakes his head slightly.

"Then you have to trust me, we have to go, now!" Finn's eyes are determined.

"What's going on buddy?" Poe has sobered slightly.

Finn softens his voice, "Look they wanted to tell you at the base, but here it is: General Leia didn't just issue you a full pardon - she also made you Fleet Admiral."

"What?!" Poe takes a moment and decides he doesn't believe Finn afterall, "That can't be right kid."

"Poe, listen," he grabs Poe's arm, "I don't know what this means, but they said that if you didn't want to come with me that this one word would make you change your mind." Finn pauses for a long beat and then states one word with filled with desperation and hoping that his friend will understand what in the galaxy it means, "Thrawn!"

**Chapter 5 **

Rey slowly walks through the stone archway and into the dimly lit temple. Slowly she scans the room. A semi-circle of the blue ghostly figures stand before her, and Rey feels the strength of the Force swell with in her. She scans the room of mostly unfamiliar faces, until her eyes rest upon Leia.  
Leia is younger than Rey knew her and she smiles broadly, "Rey, I cannot be here long. The Force will be with you through what is to come. Stay the course - You are stronger than you know. You embody the hope of the galaxy and that hope will prevail."  
Leia begins to fade.  
"Wait, Leia! Don't Go!"  
"I must. May the Force be with you."  
"Thank you, my friend."

Luke's voice brings Rey's attention back to the room, "It's alright Rey. Leia has not gone far, the two of you will learn to communicate through the Force. You will see her again."

Rey seems confused, "I don't understand. How are you all here?"

"Strong the Force is. Binds us it does." The small alien's voice is and speech pattern are calming, "Becoming one with the Force a great accomplishment it is. In a way, the purpose of existence it is, to become one with the Force. Goodness, honor, integrity, loyalty, kindness, these attributes draw one into the Force. Embrace this the Jedi do. Know that to find unity with the force, lose themselves in its service they must."

Luke continues the discussion, "In contrast to the Dark Side, which embraces deceit, tyranny, cruelty. To a Sith, the ultimate achievement would be immortality in the physical world. Rey, this is Master Yoda."  
"Yoda!" Rey almost bows in awe.  
Luke continues indicating around the circle, "Master Kenobi, Master Anakin Skywalker, and.." Luke points to a dark corner of the cave, "This is Ahsoka."  
Ahsoka emerges from the darkness, different from the others, Ahsoka is mortal. She approaches Rey with a bright smile on beautiful, if aged, face.  
"You brought the items from the hut?" Ahsoka asks,  
Rey, stunned, nods.  
"Then let us begin. You need a new lightsaber after all." Ahsoka winks.

**Chapter 6**

General Hux walks around a circle of large clones. Each of them has minor differences in the weaponry mounted at the end of his limbs. Two of the five clones have lightsaber hilts fashioned around a circle mounted to one arm and a forcefield shield mounted to the other forearm. Three of the 7 foot tall hulking clones have heavy cylindrical style rapid fire blasters mounted to one arm along with the matching shield on the other. Below each mounted weapon, a giant mechanical hand that is three times the size of a human's hand, menacingly waits to squeeze the life from an enemy. Hux calls them to attention and their mechanical legs clang together loudly as they straighten their stance.

"Lord Ren demands that you hold nothing back." Hux instructs, "You will do your best to kill him. Is that clear?!"

"Yes, sir!" the clones shout in unison. Their voices are an eerie combination of mechanical and human voice. Their expressions are serious and determined. Their faces feature identical heavy brows with a wide jaw that tapers into a large square chin. They have no hair on their head, not even eyebrows, giving them a haunting appearance.

Darth Ren enters the chamber and slowly makes his way to the center of the circle, surrounding himself with the drones. Without a word, he ignites his lightsaber as Hux runs from the area to a vantage point above.

There is a moment of complete stillness and silence that is broken suddenly as all 6 combatants seem to move as one. Ren lunges upward and slams down with a powerful force impact on the ground, releasing energy that blasts the two drones with lightsabers well out of range and momentarily stuns them buying precious seconds.

Two of the remaining drones are on Darth Ren's right, where he his hand moves in a blurr - impossibly blocking a wall of blaster fire. His other arm reaches out to his left where multiple blaster bolts are frozen mid-air and dozens more are piling up just a few meters away from Ren's outreached hand. Suddenly Ren explodes skyward in a powerful force jump while simultaneously releasing the accumulated wall of blaster bolts which impact around the two opposite clones with a massive explosion. One of the two clones manages to leap into the air and roll over the wall of bolts just before impact, however the second is consumed by the resulting fireball. He comes out of the flames with his flesh blackened and his meaty shoulders on fire. But his expression gives no indication he feels the pain of burning alive. He simply takes aim and begins to fire at Ren for the last several seconds of his life. The flames rise to his neck and face, by his eyes remain fixed on their target.

Ren is now taking blaster fire from three vectors and immediately changes tactic. With one hand outstretched toward the clone farthest to his left and the other whirling with his lightsaber, Ren redirects all of the bolts back to the wounded clone. Within moments the barrage overcomes the clone's defenses and his charred remains drop lifeless to the floor.

With his left hand, Ren now force pushes one of the blaster drones away from the battle where it smashes into a wall. Meanwhile, he continues to deflect the blaster bolts, of the remaining blaster clone back toward itself. Ren quickly moves towards the clone and closes the distance to lightsaber range. The clones defenses don't last long as Darth Ren slices through its shoulder and collarbone and diagonally into its chest with a powerful overhead blow.

Now, less than 15 seconds into the fight, the two lightsaber drones have finally charged back into the battle. Ren leaps back to place both clones in front of him. They move in unison to close the gap and Darth Ren launches himself at the one to his right. Their blades meet with a loud percussion that echoes through the chamber. Their blades move with incredible speed as Ren moves in an arching path in order to keep the current enemy between he and the other clones.

The second saber clone suddenly leaps into the air in a powerful front flip that takes him high above Ren and the first clone. He lands with a resonating boom and the floor cracks slightly below him. He lunges for Darth Ren's back and Ren narrowly dodges his first downward swing which removes cloth from Ren's upper left arm and leaves the skin scorched but unbroken.

At that instant the remaining blaster drone unleashes a barrage of blaster bolts that come in at Ren from the side. Ren stretches out with the force and seizes one of the saber clones and thrusts him in front of the oncoming blaster fire. The clone begins to deflect the bolts which go flying in all directions as the clone's droid enhanced reflexes struggle to keep up with the pace and have no ability to control the direction of the reflected bolts.

Ren holds his arm outstretched and now turns his attention to the remaining saber clone. Darth Ren dodges and swings but his left outstretched arm remains unmoving in a single location as if it were made of stone and pinned in that exact location. Ren's opponent sees this as an opening and begins to focus his attack on the outstretched arm. Darth Ren seems almost calm now. His movements are smooth and graceful as he swiftly parries and dodges the clone's attack. While slowly stepping forward and rotating his body to keep is clone shield between himself and the blaster fire that continues to deflect in a large cone shape throughout the room. Ren sees an opening coming in the force and his blade is smoothly guided as is slices through the mechanical knee of his opponent, as the clone tips towards the ground the human reflex of the clone wins out over the droid logic for only an instant as its sabered hand moves slightly towards the floor in an attempt to catch itself. It only takes a millisecond for the droid brain to correct the error after its computer brain calculated the potential damage the short fall to the floor would be minimal compared to the harm Ren would bring. It is too late, as Ren continues his sweeping stroke and removes the clone's head.

Ren now turns his full attention to the two remaining clones. He thrusts his stiff arm forward and the suspended clone flies forward crashing into the other. Ren is on them in a flash swinging his lightsaber with fury. Blaster fire and lightsabers flash. The two clones are in a tangled heap on the floor as Ren deflects attacks and strikes his own. A blaster bolt grazes his hip and a parried lightsaber strike removes skin and flesh from his lower leg. But Ren is relentless and his strikes finally overwhelm the defences and slice through the blaster to cease the torrent of fire. He shifts his focus to the final armed drone and quickly removes it's arm. Both enemies, now rendered weaponless, Ren stumbles back breathing hard.

"Enough," he pants, "have these two cleaned up. No use wasting good warriors." He then turns and limps towards the door. The room is a disaster and pieces of stone ceiling fall into the rubbled mess as Darth Ren steps through the door and it closes behind him.

**Chapter 7**

Rey carries her bag to the table in the shadows of the temple. "Here is everything that I have collected for a lightsaber." She carefully empties the bag, placing components on the table one at a time. She places a long cylinder on the table, followed by various, black and gray pieces of curved metal. Finally, she removes the two halves of Anakin's lightsaber and places them on the table only centimeters apart with the two damaged ends nearly touching.

"Good." Ahsoka nods, "But you forget a critical component." She looks intently at Rey.  
Rey momentarily looks confused, then she instinctively closes her eyes for a moment as she searches for the answer in Force. Her expression shifts to one of mild surprise and understanding. "Oh, of course."

She slowly removes the leather strap from around her neck and places the red kyber crystal within inches of the two blue shards that protrude from the ends of the Skywalker weapon.

"Rey," Ahsoka begins, "kyber crystals naturally resonate with the force. They are such a natural vessel of the force that some consider them to be a physical manifestation of the Force itself." Her tone is Reverent as she continues, "In order for a crystal to be harnessed by a user of the dark side, they have to corrupt it, damage it, harm it. It is an unnatural event that the Sith refer to as 'bleeding' because at the end of the process, the pure crystal is drained of the goodness that the makes up the force and that 'space' is filled with the hate and anger of the Sith himself – turning the crystal a deep crimson." Rey nods for Ahsoka to go on, "But it is not the natural state of the crystal and it can be healed. Shall we begin?"

Rey nods.

Obi Wan speaks and Rey looks towards him, "As it was Darth Vader that transformed this crystal, Anakin will be with you for part of this process."

Rey turns to Anakin, who seems to have a slight shimmer of tears in his eyes, though it is difficult to be sure, "Master Anakin, Thank you for your help."

"No Rey, I thank you for yours." Anakin seems filled with anticipation.

Rey steadies herself, "Shall we begin?"

Anakin and Ahsoka stand on either side of Rey and both nod. Ahsoka explains, "Rey, you will lead and you will feel the our support in the Force, we will help where we can and we will follow you through the labyrinth, you will have to walk to path of darkness that corrupted and filled the crystal – you can do this, but it will be painful and difficult."

Rey scans the room, still amazed at the incredible group gathered in the temple. Her eyes focus and she slowly closes them with an expression of confidence and calm. Her mind instantly is engulfed in a powerful vision of the Force through the eyes of Anakin.

_She is shrouded in shadow within small room and turns to see his mother. Her there is only silence, no words, the only sound that Rey can hear is her own breath and heartbeat. She feels the pain of holding mother as she dies in her arms.  
Rey's face is beginning to glow with a dim red hew.  
She now finds herself in battle, she can feel the force flow through her as she faces an Old Bearded man. Her lightsaber slices through his hands and he drops to his knees before her. The vision is interrupted only for a flash of a moment with the image of a dark cloaked figure in the distance. She watches the lightsabers, driven by the force, cross before the man's frightened face, feels the pull of the dark side with an overwhelming command and she smoothly and effortlessly uncrosses the blades and the terrified face tumbles from view._

The red glow begins to fill the temple.

Rey can hear her heartbeat quicken, she fights to keep it calm and to slow her breath.

_A beautiful young woman stands before her, for a moment Rey thinks it is Leia – there is a strong resemblance and Rey can feel the force draw the connection for her, this is Leia's mother. Rey feels an overwhelming love and attachment to the woman before her. He soul fills with dread as she suddenly sees the Padme', suffering, screaming in pain. Another flash fills Rey's mind of the hooded figure, he is closer. There is overwhelming torture in Rey's heart as she watches Padme's life begin to slip away. She sees a powerful Jedi with as he stands beside the table that Padme' lays upon. Padme's face is suddenly engulfed in a bright Amethyst light. Rey's blue blade doesn't hesitate, it flashes, and the purple light is extinguished._  
_The dark figure now stands in front of Rey, his face is wrinkled and disfigured. He smiles at her and turns to the side where she sees Padme', now completely healed and smiling standing at the end of a long dark hallway. Rey must get to her. She dashes down the hall, her heart now beats loudly and she breathes heavily. Troopers appear to block her path, she feels her anger blast them away without more than a thought. Several Jedi now appear before her and her blade effortlessly flows with the force as she maintains her pace, not losing a single step. Finally younglings with sabers are in her view but her speed is increasing and they are a blur as she passes leaving a visible wake in the force.  
Rey feels her skin almost burn with heat. Her breathing is now labored and her senses are overwhelmed with orange light and the scent of brimstone. She turns to see one final opponent standing between her and the woman she must save. Padme' peeks her head from behind Obi Wan's shoulder and slides her hand from the Jedi's waist up until it rests softly upon his chest. Obi Wan turns his head and kisses Padme' lightly upon the cheek. Padme' mockingly smiles at Rey and pushes Obi Wan forward. _

Rey's heart beat is powerful and loud and her breath is deep and labored.

_Obi Wan attacks and their blades flash blue against each other. Obi Wan's face is filled with betrayal. He smiles at Rey and mocks her with craze-filled eyes. Rey feels her rage well up and explode in a sudden overwhelming light that immediately dissipates and only absolute darkness remains.  
There is no heartbeat - only deep breathing and with every breath a more mechanical, rhythmic pace is heard. After a few steady slow mechanical breaths, Rey's vision shifts to a red tint as with digital readouts. She can see her black-gloved hands as they move. Before her lying up on the table is a kyber crystal and the components of a lightsaber. _

Rey senses this is the moment and her brow furrows in determination.

The crystal glows bright red now, illuminating the entire space. Rey's hand slowly raises to hover above the crystal before her. She tilts her head back slightly as she gives herself over to the will of the force. Ahsoka's face is glowing red and a slight smile begins to appear on her lips. Anakin smiles more broadly and a single tear slips down along his cheek. Rey's face is one of intense concentration bathed in a bright crimson light. The light begins to lose its color, but raises in intensity. The red is slowly over several seconds drowned out by a brilliant white.

The various objects on the table begin to vibrate and lift into the air. They are moving in circular motions that feel random for each item.  
Rey's brow softens as she feels the peace of the force fill her once again and in a matter of moments the light in the room dims until the only source casting upon her are the immortal Jedi Masters around her. She extends her hand, palm up, and opens her eyes as she grips her new lightsaber out of the air. She looks down and in her eyes, there is a reflection of her hand holding the long grip. The unmistakable sound of a blade igniting echoes in the chamber and the right side of Rey's face is bathed in a white light. A second ignition echoes and the left side of Rey's face is bathed in blue.

"Now," Rey hears Luke's voice and turns to face him, "You are a Jedi." Luke smiles and bows his head in her direction. The others in the room do the same and Rey scans their faces. "Thank you all." Her eyes rest upon Anakin's and he stares back into hers with a smile that broadens.

**Chapter 8**

"How long do we have?" Finn shouts at Poe as they climb different ladders into the same large ship. "I have an idea!"

"Maybe an hour!" Dameron yells, "Get strapped in and get your headset on and you can tell me as I run the flight check!"

Finn makes his way into the gunnery seat and straps in. He tests the turret controls and views the weapon options screen to make sure he is completely loaded for battle. He pulls on the headset and speaks.

"Poe, you there?"

"Yeah buddy, I'm here." Poe is flipping switches in the cockpit and running diagnostics. "What was your idea?"

"Let's do the lightspeed trick thing."

"What?"

"You know! Purple hair lady! The lightspeed boom trick."

Poe stops for a moment, not sure whether to laugh at Finn's naivety or be pulled into imagining the horror of the suggestion. "Finn… Okay, first of all. Lightspeed trick thing is called Hyper-Spearing and it is incredibly reckless."

"It worked for Pur…"

Poe cuts him off, "Purple haired lady. I know. But it didn't work for her. It worked for us, and we got very lucky."

"What do you mean?"

"Kid Hyper-Spearing is the most horrific war crime there is. It is dangerous and the consequences are terrible and unpredictable. First of all, when the explosion happens between objects in hyperspace and 'real' space, it opens up a rift."

"What kind of rift?

"Kid I don't know, it's not like I trek around the galaxy on some science ship - I'm a fighter pilot! What I do know is what they teach in the very first course in hyperspace navigation, you always plot a course, you use the best and most accurate data available, because you do NOT want to fly into anything."

"I get that we die but.." Finn doesn't fear anything now.

"It's worse than dying Finn. When the rift opens up, everything caught there is suspended permanently. Forever kid. Eternity in that horror, in that Limbo. So she's still there and she always will be, never aging, never dying - along with everyone caught in those hyper rifts, stuck, damned to eternal fear. The problem is Buddy, there is no predicting how far or big the tear will be. If we were to hit Thrawn with an attack like that, it is possible that the hyper rift could consume the whole planet. Too many of those happen and there is no telling what it could do to the galaxy - not even the Empire was crazy enough to use hyper-weapons. What Admiral Haldo did saved us but it was desperate and stupid and she committed a war crime that came with the punishment included. It's not an option kid."

"So she could have actually taken us all with her in that blast." Finn is beginning to see how close he came to being caught in the rift himself.

"I think because she was only transitioning into hyperspace at the point of impact it kept the tears small and they sealed quickly. There are rumors that parts of the unknown regions have massive rifts that may have engulfed entire systems. If she had been just a microsecond closer to full hyperspace, it might have done massive permanent damage to that part of space, and you and Rose and everyone there are very very lucky Finn." Poe changes topics, "So, we have a battle plan, Thrawn is the most brilliant strategist the galaxy has ever heard of, so we just have to hope that our intel is better than his. If our spies in the first order are right, we can predict exactly where and when Thrawn's ships will come out of hyperspace, we have to time things perfectly if we are going to inflict any major damage before his shields can go up. You ready?"

"Yeah,"Finn kisses a crescent shaped medallion on a leather strap around his neck and drops it back under his shirt "Let's do this."

**Chapter 9**

A door slides open and lights brighten to bathe the room in a red hue. Darth Ren limps back to his into his chambers. His clothing is smoking and lightly tattered and his relatively minor wounds have stopped bleeding, but dried blood covers the side of his head and his left arm. Slowly he makes his way across the room to a single cylinder of light that encompasses the charred remains of the mask of Darth Vader.

Ren kneels before the mask on both knees and assumes a posture of meditation. Beside the mask a palm sized pyramid shape of black stone rises and floats between Ren and his grandfather's mask. Symmetrical lines begin to glow at different angles on the pyramid, and it rotates slowly.

"Grandfather, I have come as far as I can with the knowledge I have been granted of the darkside. Now, I seek guidance to unlock this holocron and discover the secrets it contains. Guide me."

A deep voice responds in the darkness, "Embrace your hatred. Feel your anger grow within. The pain in your wounds, your suffering, draw on that power."

"Lord Vader." Ren's voice is low and filled with anticipation and wonder.

The voice seems to echo through the chamber with a deep and raspy laughter. "Your emotions have made you weak 'Darth' Ren." The title Darth is filled with disdain and judgement. "Do you really expect that soul of your Grandfather will come to you in some kind of poetic force vision? Pathetic."

"Snoke." Ren identifies his old Master definitively.

"Yes, did you honestly think you had destroyed me? That you could somehow deceive me with your childish turn of your wrist while the lightsaber right beside my body turned. How did you really think I could have missed that?" Then my royal guard has to literally lose weapons and miss swing on purpose to hand you a 'victory'! Snoke pauses as if to await a response, "No matter. I needed to shed that damaged shell in order to prepare for my next incarnation. Do you really wish to learn the ways of Sith, Ren?"

"I do, but you told me that you were not of the Sith." Ren's anger is coming out.

The voice shouts a correction, "I told you 'Snoke' was not of the Sith!" The voice laughs.

"I don't understand, you are not Snoke?"

"Snoke was a puppet, Darth Ren. An empty vessel that I filled, a mortal body to contain my immortality. It is time for you to learn the truth, Lord Ren. I am Darth Plagueis the Wise, Dark Lord of the Sith. Master to Darth Sidious, Master over death, and Master of the creation of life."

"I understood that Darth Sidious murdered his Master in his sleep."

"You are not the first apprentice to underestimate my power Darth Ren. Sidious had learned of my studies of the secrets of immortality and believed he killed me before I had gained the power of eternal life. But I see all things, time lays out before my eyes all decisions that the Dark Side will guide. Sidious' plan was clear to me before he even conceived it. I had intended for Snoke to be a temporary host, and so on the night that Sidious plotted to destroy me, I had already shifted into the young Snoke. I foresaw Sidious' rise to Emperor and determined that of all the possible paths the Dark Side revealed to me, allowing him to believe I had been destroyed would lead to greater domination and strength in the end. There was only one flaw in my plan, because the Jedi stumbled onto my greatest secret and my ultimate plan was corrupted."

"What plan?"

"I required a new mortal shell, but I desired a more perfect vessel - one less inhibited by its human flaws. I had prepared for decades for a dark ritual. I chose an insignificant slave woman. I called upon the dark side and, with its power, I finally performed the ritual that spontaneously created life within her womb- a child created by the force itself. It would be the perfect home for my soul. And when the time was right, I would take possession of my creation and cast Sidious aside as I became rightful ruler of the Galaxy. For safekeeping, I sold the child and his mother to a powerful smuggling family on a forgotten planet, and I waited."

"The child. The child you are talking about, was it…"

"The child was Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi discovered him by chance and stole him away, corrupting him with the light and it took me years of manipulation in his mind to push him back to the darkness. The fool Sidious helped me along the way, but then when my triumph was finally complete and Skywalker was within my grasp, his body was destroyed by a Jedi and he was left a useless, weakened mechanical shell of what he once was was. I began to prepare for another life creating ritual but, I knew of his offspring and believed that my opportunity would come if I simply waited. However the children were shielded from the dark side and therefore from my view until the light had purged darkness from them. Then as I was nearly prepared to attempt creation again, you were born. And I felt the dark side awaken. It is your destiny Darth Ren, to join yourself to me and to become one with me as we take control of the Galaxy!"

**Chapter 10**

"Rey, difficult this may be. But know the truth you must." Yoda's voice is calming and wise.

"What?" Rey is concerned.

"The truth you must learn." Yoda turns to look to Luke, Obi Wan and Anakin and as they approach Leia joins them.

"Leia!" Rey beams with excitement as she sees her dear friend again.

"Hello Rey," Leia smiles wide, "This is Obi Wan Kenobi he was Anakin's Master."

"More importantly," Obi Wan breaks in, "I was and am Anakin's friend. I insisted on training him as a child and I was blinded by darkness when he turned away from the light. And I am responsible in some ways for his final steps in becoming Darth Vader. I believed I could train and protect him, but only his son could turn him back to the light."

Luke jumps in, "And I believed that I could train and protect Ben Solo, but I could not. Now, it is up to you Rey, to stop Darth Ren and Bring Balance."

There is a long silence that Rey finally breaks thoughtfully, "What does bring balance even mean?"

"A purging of the dark side balance is." Master Yoda offers, "Naturally balanced is the Force. Corrupted it must be to darkness, lack of balance the nature of the dark side is. Consumed in the light must the darkness be. When gone the Sith is, will darkness be also and balance restored."

"Why am I the one to do this?" Rey does not seem to feel worthy of this task.

"Because of your lineage." Obi Wan answers.

"My lineage?" Rey feels a stirring in the force. "Tell me where I came from. Who are my parents?"

Leia's voice calms Rey, "Your parents were scavengers and traders on dozens of worlds. They dreamed of having a child but over the years, it became clear that your parents were unable to conceive, and they gave up hope. When you were born your parents were overjoyed, they regarded you as a "miracle" and they did not understand how accurate that was."

"What do you mean?" Rey asks.

Obi Wan offers insight, "Rey, Sometimes the one with the darkest of plans and intentions can, in fact, ignorantly and unintentionally be following the will of the light."

"Rey," Leia offers a comforting look and pauses to allow Rey to prepare for the moment, "you are the creation Darth Plagueis, an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith, the same Dark Lord responsible for the creation of Anakin Skywalker. In that way, you are the Sister to Anakin Skywalker, my Father."

Rey is speechless.

"Darth Plagueis never intended for Anakin to be discovered," Obi Wan goes on, "his goal had been for Anakin to reach maturity and to take possession of his body once it was ready. But when my Master, Qui Gon discovered Anakin on Tatooine, the lack of a "Father" exposed the miraculous nature of Anakin's creation and made Plagueis vulnerable. It seemed as though it was the will of the force that guided us to discover Anakin. So when Plagueis prepared to create you, he chose a woman who was married and wanted a child. After you were born, Plagueis wanted to further hide your creation, so he poisoned your parent's minds with the darkside and manipulated them into selling you on Jakuu. He then destroyed them and all evidence of your existence."

"So my family is dead." Rey is tearful.

"Your parents are dead, yes." Leia offers, and gestures to Anakin and Luke who step forward, "But Rey, you are also a Skywalker, and _we_ are with you."

Luke goes on "Rey, in order to avoid the temptation of darkness, over time, the Jedi eleminated the parts of life that brought them joy. They isolated themselves from love and from attachments. But, as you have been seeing in the ancient texts, joy is the purpose of the light and you can restore that to the Jedi order that you build. That is where you must start with Ben Solo, help him find peace - help him find joy again."

**Chapter 11**

"All flight commanders check in!" Poe commands, and one by one the leaders of the various squadrons sound off with indications that each group is in position.

The final group checks in, "Cobalt Squadron in position."

"Cobalt," Poe responds, "Your bombers are the key to this mission. Your timing has to be absolutely perfect, have you run the calculations and calibrated your magnetic launch rails to time the drop?"

"Yes, sir!" Cobalt Leader responds, "We will release our payloads 8.7 seconds prior to the first order's arrival at the coordinates. That will place the first bombs virtually touching their hulls. Each bomber has used the intel to target the exact locations of the shield generators of each Star Destroyer. If our intel is perfect, the drops will be perfect!"

"Excellent Commander!" Poe responds, "Please broadcast your countdown on the Cobalt Squadron frequency, the rest of the attack force will countdown to blaster fire."

"Understood, Sir." Cobalt commander replies. "May the Force be with you Admiral."

"And with you Commander." Poe responds.

"60 seconds to arrival! All ships, prepare for combat!" Poe Commands. He then turns his attention to his own ship. "Okay Finn, you ready down there?"

Finn responds, "I think so. You sure that we will be able to avoid all of these things?"

Poe laughs, "Well buddy, this has never been done before and I am used to the responsiveness of an x-wing, but… yeah I'm pretty sure."

"I feel better now." Finn laughs.

"Don't worry Finn." Poe instructs, "You just fire those ion cannons on time, and then switch to blasters and take out any small ships the pour out in our direction. If one of those things back there makes you nervous, whatever you do - DON'T shoot it. We need them intact. Got it?"

"I got it Poe. This is gonna work!"

"This is gonna work. Okay switching to the fleet channel for the countdown." Poe pauses, "Finn... Thank you - you're the best friend I…" he trails off.

Finn helps, "Yeah me too Poe. Me too. Brothers."

"Brothers." Poe agrees, and switches the channel to a countdown in progress.

"12. 11. 10. 9."

Poe sees the two groups bombers, one that actually appear to be upside down below him and out in front and the other one directly above that one but rightside up from Poe's perspective. The two bomber groups simultaneously release their payloads directly toward each other - Half appearing to "fall" as the mind expects, but the other half rising from within the upside down bombers and moving up with an equal momentum. Poe's attention comes back to the countdown.

"5. 4. 3. 2. 1. FIRE!"

A sphere of fire forms, quickly shrinking as the blaster fire and ion cannons all speed towards an empty void in space as the bright laser bolts get closer to their intended targets the sphere becomes less defined as the shots all angle towards a different predicted location of an enemy ship. Poe accelerates his ship, chasing the laser fire and watches closely as the bombs that have been hurling towards each other seem to be getting impossibly close, and he is convinced that they will begin to impact one another presently. When suddenly a group of 8 various size star destroyers appear as if by magic and are immediately impacted by hundreds of bombs.

Less than one second later the first volley of laser and ion blasts reach the damaged ships. All 8 star destroyers have suffered major damage, but 3 of them have been able to successful raise deflector shields to protect themselves from the onslaught of fire.

Poe is now gaining enormous velocity and the flagship star destroyer is beginning to fill the view. "Finn, get ready to release the tractor beams! All at once… wait… wait… NOW!"

Finn slams his hand down and Poe pulls the ship up hard, nearly bouncing off of the hull of the enemy craft. Poe shouts "Hang on!" and presses a button which ignites a powerful booster engine that drives both he and Finn back into their seats hard and launches their craft away from the Super Star Destroyer. Just as they clear the edge of the ship, the first of a dozen ship-sized asteroids impact the surface of the First Order ship with an incredible explosion. As the rocks impact the ship in a line across its mass, the ship breaks into two halves.

On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Grand Admiral Thrawn stands with his hands behind his back, taking small steps to steady himself against the lurching ship, or what remains of it. Chaos has erupted around him. He calmly reaches to his side and withdraws an elegant looking blaster and shoots an officer in the face that is running past him hysterically. The other officers on the bridge freeze. "There," Thrawn speaks cooly, "Now that I have your attention, can someone seal off the bridge please? So that we don't lose all of our air. Divert all life support power to this room. Launch any surviving fighters and prepare the bridge escape pods to be jettisoned towards our fleet ship with least damage."

The bridge crew is now mirroring Thrawn's calm and works efficiently to follow his orders. Thrawn moves to a communication station and commands his captains to report in. "We have been betrayed." He says with a hint of frustration, and begins furiously typing away at the display.

"Lieutenant!" Thrawn shouts.

A young officer is almost immediately by Thrawn's side, brow sweaty. "Yes Grand Admiral?"

"Someone sent a message after our briefing 10 hours ago on our attack plan. Here are the 15 people that were in that room. One of them is a traitor. Find that transmission." Thrawn slides to another communication screen and begins to respond to the reports coming in from the fleet.

The lieutenant beside at the next station works furiously, but can't help but overhear Thrawn shout through gritted teeth, "I don't care about your hyperdrive working Captain, we are here to end a war, victory or death!" Thrawn's voice now echoes through the bridge, "Now launch your fighters, and set you ship to self destruct in 2 minutes. If the Kristang is not a fireball by then, I will kill you myself!" He now flips a switch, "All First Order ships, direct your fire to defend the Star Destroyer Kristang! It carries a secret weapon that must be defended, but keep your ships at a distance!"

Poe and Finn face heavy attack from enemy fighters. Poe is able to outmaneuver most of the ships and Finn continually blasts one after another into space dust.

Poe notices a change, "Flight leaders, what's happening with the star destroyer in Echo quadrant? It seems as though the rest of the enemy ships have focussed their cannons on its defense."

"You're right Admiral Dameron, it must be Thrawn's ship!" One leader offers.

"No, Thrawn would never give his position away like that. It has to be something else."

Another pilot chimes in, "Maybe they have some kind of cargo or weapon that they need time to prepare?"

"That fits," Poe admits, "let's not give them that time. Focus the attack on that ship. I want it destroyed immediately." Poe turns off his microphone and curses.

"Poe what's wrong?" Finn responds.

"Sorry Finn, I thought I was off the air, didn't mean for you to hear that, buddy." Poe is frustrated.

"What is it?" Finn presses.

"I don't know. It just doesn't make sense, the Thrawn I have studied would never have shown his cards like this. Maybe it isn't him, maybe our intel was wrong. But regardless, if the First Order is willing to let their other ships be vulnerable just so that they can protect that one ship it has to mean that they are preparing for weapon to strike at the planet… unless…" Poe slams the switch back to the fleet channel. "All fighters break off the attack on Echo quadrant, focus your fire on other ships and get in tight with them! It's a trap MOVE! Get away from echo quadrant!"

The rebel fighters all break off and immediately head toward the other targets. Suddenly the massive Star Destroyer explodes in a massive ball of energy that consumes dozens of First Order fighters, but all of the rebel squadrons have narrowly escaped the blast.

**Chapter 12**

"Stretch out with your emotions Darth Ren, follow the anger and the hate." The deep voice guides Ren.

Ren moves across the chamber to a far corner of the room. He places his hand on the dark stone surface and stands there unmoving. After a moment a deep red glow defines the outline of a door. Darth Ren stretches his other hand towards the door and strains slightly. The door swings open slowly and dust falls from around its edges. Ren confidently turns and walks through the portal.

Darth Ren finds himself in more of a cave than a room, and in the center of the room is a large medical stasis tank with the body of man seemingly unconscious inside. He floats almost gracefully in the medical liquid with various monitors and devices connected to his body. He is missing a portion of his left hand and his right leg above the knee. His shoulder, neck and right ear are badly scarred with the ear consumed in the scarring. At the bottom of the tank there is a silver base and in its center, a small glass door. There is a strange object that Ren is drawn to. He opens the door and pulls out a rectangular framed device. Ren holds the metallic shape in both hands and studies it. He realizes that one side is formed from the hilt of a lightsaber. He grips that side in his hand. The remaining half frames in his hand as if it were a crude hand guard, Ren scoffs at the simplistic design, then he realizes that the crude handguard is actually a blaster. He points into the depth of the cave and fires the blaster.

"Impressive." Ren shakes his head in amazement at the ingenuity. He ignites the blade which glows a bright green and illuminates the cavern.

"Are you finished playing with the toys?" The deep voice of Plagueis returns.

"Yes, my master." Kylo shuts down the blade. "Whose lightsaber is this master? I have seen nothing like it. It is crude yet innovative."

"That belonged to the body before you now. The body that I currently occupy. The body of a young Jedi named Ezra Bridger."

"I don't know that name." Ren responds.

"You wouldn't, he is nothing. Bridger played a role in the beginnings of the "Rebellion" against the Galactic Empire. He arrived along with my greatest spy, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known widely as Grand Admiral Thrawn. Bridger had Thrawn prisoner, but Thrawn cleverly directed the ship right to my doorstep. I, in the form of Snoke, faced Bridger, and the battle was long and brutal. You recall Snoke's body and the severe damage that it had suffered, Bridger was responsible. But I finally overcame him, and saved his broken body for a time when I would need it. Thanks to you, that time finally came."

"I understand Master." Ren feels no shame in the attempt to kill his master, it is the way of the Sith.

"Now, Darth Ren, as I require another vessel gifted with command of the Force, I offer you the honor of hosting me. The damage to Bridger's body was extensive and it will not survive outside of this cylinder. It will take days to prepare the ritual, but I will instruct you on all that we require. Do you accept?"

"You give me a choice?" Darth Ren wonders.

"Yes, the host must have command of the Force and for the union to be complete it has to be done willingly." Plagueis goes on, " Bridger's body was in a coma, and I fight to keep his consciousness unaware of my presence. A willing host, like Snoke, will allow me to reach my full command of the force and the more force sensitive, the more powerful I can become. You Darth Ren, are the most gifted force wielder since Anakin Skywalker. You only now have begun to tap into your potential. When we will become one, our two minds will meld and we will become the most powerful being in the history of the galaxy. "

Ren nods understanding. "I accept Master. What do I need to do?"

When the detailed instructions are complete, Ren makes his way back into his chamber. He seals the door behind him and reaches for the communicator on the nearby table. "Prepare my ship. I depart momentarily."

Ren boards his ship alone and begins to prepare it for takeoff. The ship's computer speaks to him as if it were a droid, "Where are we going my Lord?"

"Mustafar."

"Yes my Lord, that journey should take only a few hours." The ship responds.

"Get us underway at once. I am going to meditate, wake me if I am needed."

Ren's V-shaped ship lifts off the platform and rises towards the purple sky as he leaves the cockpit and moves into his private quarters. Upon entering, Darth Ren removes his helmet and mask, his hair is inexplicably perfect as he reverently places his helmet on a platform and assumes a position of meditation on the floor.

The moment Ren closes his eyes, they shoot open again and he finds himself sitting across from Rey.

"There you are, finally." Rey looks determined, "We need to talk."

**Chapter** **13**

Ren shakes his head. "It all makes sense now. When I was a child, I would tell my parents about my cousin hiding on Jakuu. They thought it was just childhood imaginary friend stuff."

Rey interrupts, with a grin, "Technically your aunt."

Ren contemplates that for a moment, smiling at the strangeness of the realization she is right, "But the point is, I knew you were there. When you turned up, I assumed that it was the force giving me a premonition about you."

"But," Rey breaks in, "we've been connected all along. Luke and Leia had that same connection, it is a connection in the force because of our family. Plagueis is the reason for the connection, but it is not his power that connects us. It's the force itself. Ben, Plagueis is planning to destroy you."

"I know." Ren responds.

"We can't let that happen." Rey is emphatic.

"It won't. He has sent me to Mustafar, apparently Vader had collected an artifact that Plagueis planned to use as part of the union ritual. But I have my own purposes in going. Darth Vader also collected holocrons of the Sith. I have his holocron with me and it contains the key to unlocking the secret chambers within his fortress on Mustafar. There I will find the secrets to the powers of the dark side."

"No you won't." Rey says with finality.

"What?" Ren is confused

"Ben, we need to meet. I can be at Mustafar in 3 hours. I have something you need to see. Will you wait for me?" Rey pleads.

Ren pauses and finally commits, "Yes, I will be there when you arrive."

"Good, see you soon… cousin." Rey smiles.

Ren smiles slightly too as the vision ends.

A few hours later, the Millenium Falcon descends toward the platform in front of a giant castle on the lava covered planet. The ramp lowers and Rey emerges from the ship with her lightsaber slung across her back on a leather strap. She moves past the large craft already there and towards the main entrance of the castle. Chewbacca moves down the ramp with his crossbow at the ready and groans cautiously at Rey.

"I'll be fine. Trust me. I am not alone." Rey comforts Chewy over her shoulder.

Darth Ren stands in the archway and invites her in.

"Your helmet is pretty, can you take it off so we can talk?" Rey walks confidently past Ren and into the castle.

Ren moves in behind her while removing the helmet. His hair is still perfect. "This isn't going to work Rey."

"What?" she asks innocently.

"Turning me." he accuses, "I know what you are thinking, it isn't going to work, it's too late."

"There is no such thing as too late Ben. You have a choice. You always have a choice. You think that giving yourself to Plagueis is not a choice? You get to decide your fate, you can create your own destiny. And I can prove it to you Ben." She motions to the center of the room.

Ren doesn't move.

"I am going to show you something, and when I am done, you can choose what to do. You can even try to kill me if you want. I can show you how to access the power of Vader, just trust me enough to see what I am here to show you. Have I ever lied to you?" She raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"No." Ren says flatly.

"'No' what?" She asks "No I haven't lied to you? No you won't do it?"

Ren exhales and moves past Rey to the spot she is indicating he stops and kneels, waiting for her now.

Rey approaches kneels across from him. "Close your eyes."

He glares at her.

"Close your eyes." She insists.

He rolls his eyes but obeys and Rey closes her eyes as well.

They find themselves in the Jedi Temple on Ach too. Rey speaks first, "This is a Jedi temple, the first Jedi temple."

"The island." Ren says.

"Yes the island." Rey nods, "Ben this place resonates with the force. It is an amazing place and that we wanted to share with you."

"We?" Ren looks confused.

"We." Luke's voice causes Ren to turn quickly in response.

"You won't see him yet Ben. It will take some time. But he is right there in front of you." Rey speaks with reverence.

"I don't understand." Ren is almost frightened, "I thought he was dead."

"Not exactly." Rey explains, "He has become one with the force, if you concentrate and let go of your anger, your hate and release your shame - you will find more are here."

"More?" Ren almost panics.

"Relax Ben. Let go of the pain. Embrace the peace. I know you can feel it. It isn't out of your reach, but you have been punishing yourself. You've been angry since you started rebelling and you've only stayed this course out of childish pride. Leave the past behind, let it die."

"I can't."

"You can," Rey promises, "I know you can. I can see it within you. There are paths before you Ben and right now in this moment you have the power to choose at a fork in that path. You can choose joy, you can choose peace. That is what you truly desire, I can see it in your soul."

"I don't deserve peace." Ben insists.

"Yes Ben, you do." Luke's voice is joined by another. It is softer and more distant, almost indistinguishable.

"Who is that?" Ben is curious now.

"Focus Ben." Rey instructs. "Breathe, just breathe. Feel the peace in the force around you. Reach out and connect with the cave, the water, feel the grass at the door way. Breathe."

Ren inhales deeply and exhales.

"Ben." Luke addresses him and begins to appear. "I am sorry for my fear, for my moment of weakness. I failed you."

"No, Master Luke," Ben responds. "I failed you. I am so sorry."

"Ben, can you hear me?" Leia's voice is recognizable now.

"Mother." Ben is in shock and tears fill his eyes.

"Ben, you have to listen to Rey, please let go of the pain." Leia pleads with her son.

"Mother, I can't come back from what I have done. It's too much. It's too far." Ben feels hopeless.

"Ben Solo, you're wrong. You have always thought that you were drawn by the force to follow your grandfather, you've sought his approval, his strength?" Rey asks.

"Yes, I guess I felt like I didn't fit with my family and wanted to follow someone's footstep why not Vader?. Childish, I know." Ben admits.

"No Ben. That's not." Rey counters, "In fact I WANT you to follow him."

Ben shoots Rey a confused glance.

"Ben," Luke adds, "This is my father, Anakin Skywalker, the man you know as Darth Vader."

Ben looks to Anakin in complete awe.

"Ben, if it was not too late for me, then I assure you it is not too far for you." Anakin declares.

**CHAPTER 14**

Thrawn walks onto the bridge of the Star Destroyer Nemesis. "Status Report!"

"Grand Admiral," the Captain responds, "The rebels remain in a blockade formation and seem to be holding to await our response to their demand for surrender."

Thrawn nods, "Thank you Captain, you are relieved."

"Sir?"

"Captain, someone from this ship warned our enemies with exact details of our arrival. It was you or your first officer, and I have considered killing you here and now, but I need to have you both interrogated first. Guards!" he shouts, "remove him to the room we've just prepared."

Two stormtroopers clad in black armor approach the Captain and nudge him out of the room. They exit and the guards follow him closely. As they walk down the hallway, a small sign reading "escape pods" is visible on the left. The captain suddenly stops which causes one of the two guards to push him with the end of his barrel. The older man spins with the speed of a man half his age and fires a small blaster the pops from his sleeve. He shoots the guard furthest from him first while the blaster of the first is wedged under his arm with the barrel safely behind him. He then puts a bolt directly into the helmet of the second guard. He touches a pad on the door of the escape pod which grants him access and enters the pod, immediately launching.

Poe Dameron notices the pod as it rapidly moves away from the ship and moves to intercept. "Finn watch for fighters this might be our guy!"

Finn scans his field of view, "Here they come!"

Three tie fighters quickly close in on the pod and Finn begins to fire rapidly at them. One is struck immediately, but the other two stay on course. The pod has limited maneuverability, but is able to narrowly avoid the oncoming attack until Poe can slip between the pod and the fighters. Other Resistance ships join the fight and quickly the two TIEs are destroyed.

"I've got him on the tractor beam Poe." Finn reports.

Poe steers the ship back to their spot in the blockade. "Good job, Finn. Meet me in the cargo bay, pretty sure this is our guy, but we need to be careful."

"Will do, I'll have the pod secured in 10 seconds." Finn says.

As the two men enter the bay with weapons drawn they are met by an older man with his hands above his head. "Easy fellas. I'm the good guy."

"What's your verification code?" Poe demands.

"Endor Falcon One." The old man smiles. "But you can call me Lando."

**CHAPTER 15**

"Are you ready?" Rey asks over the communication channel as she and Chewy fly the Falcon in formation with the First Order ship piloted by Ben Solo.

"Yes. I am ready." Ben replies, "Rey, are you sure about this?"

"Ben it's the only way." She answers.

"I hope you're right. We won't have long, he will sense us coming." Ben says, " I think I have hidden my intentions for now, but as we get closer, he will know. See you on the platform. May the Force be with us."

The two ships touch down on the pad quickly and with little grace. Both ramps are already open and Rey and Ben each emerge in a dead run for the building. "Halt!" a guard shouts then realizing who it is, he starts with "Apologies Lord Ren…" When he is slammed back into the wall and droops unconscious as Ben extends his arm with the force.

As Ben and Rey enter the door, Chewbacca is jogging to catch up behind them. He reaches the door only moments after the others and can already hear the distinct sound of clashing lightsabers and blaster fire. He ducks into the doorway and moves to a staircase leading up to a platform that Ben suggested for it's vantage point and protection. Chewbacca begins firing down on the mayhem below where over 100 of the droid enhanced clones stand between his friends and the chambers that they need to reach. Chewy carefully takes aim and fires rapidly with nearly every bolt destroying an enemy. His eyes are drawn in glances at Ben and Rey as they fight wave upon wave of drones.

Ben fights with fury and he relies heavily on force pushes and control of enemy blaster bolts to gain the upper hand. Rey, in contrast fights with fluidity and grace. Her long double bladed lightsaber spins, at times, fast enough for the blue and white blades to blur together. She moves in constant flow with the force, each stroke of a blade leads to an efficient blow with the trailing blade. She spins and jumps in such a smooth pattern that one hardly notices that she is even facing enemies, the force simply guides her on the ideal path of maximum effectiveness.

Chewbacca, roars in support of Rey as he momentarily pauses his blasting to gawk at the sheer number of clones that lay dismembered in her wake. Shaking his head in amazement, he returns his attention to firing at clones far out in front of Rey and Ben. When suddenly from his left, a pale skinned man appears with a blaster in hand and fires at the wookie. Chewbacca roars in pain and turns to charge directly at Hux, who immediately drops his weapon. Chewbacca stops directly in front of the cowardly general who stares up in horror at the hairy beast before him. Chewbacca looks at his left shoulder and touches the wound that grazed across just above his shoulder blade. Then his eyes narrow as they focus on the shrivelling man before him.

"Please don't... " But before Hux can get out another word, Chewbacca's large fist hammers down on the top of the man's head with an enormous force. Hux's eye roll back and he drops immediately to the ground. Chewbacca growls almost a chuckle as he notices a urine puddle form on the floor in front of the unconscious officer.

Chewbacca returns to his sniper position to realize that Rey and Ben only have another dozen or so drones between them and their goal. He begins to fire rapidly dropping four of the massive clones just as Rey and Ben clean up the remainder. He growls victoriously as they enter the door at the far end of the chamber.

Ben strolls across the room and places his hand upon the wall and the door flies open as he extends his left hand. He dashes in the room with Rey close behind him and immediately screams in pain with his hands rising to his temples. Rey steps around him and she too raises a hand to her head in pain. But Rey's eyes soon come into focus and she begins again to stride toward the cylindrical tank in the center of the room. She is only a few steps into the room when she spins and raises her lightsaber over her head just in time to block a lethal blow from Ben.

**Chapter 16**

Lando enters a series of commands into the ship's computer. Poe asks, "How did you manage to plant this program into their ships?"

"I entered a few lines of data every week for 10 years kid." Lando speaks without turning away from the screen or dividing too much attention to the conversation.

"10 years." Poe repeats in amazement, "I can't fathom keeping a cover that long."

"It's just an extended game of Sabacc." Lando smiles.

Finn breaks in, "And you are saying that it will shut down life support systems and introduce a gas into their ventilation systems that will knock everyone out?"

"That's right." Lando punches the final few commands with a little extra force on the keys for effect. "Everyone on those ships will be asleep in the next 2 minutes and they won't even know it is happening."

Thrawn sits in the Captain Quarters staring at the wall. He picks up a datapad and says for what must be the 5th time, "Show me the service records of Captain Kessel." He studies the information again and then stands and moves to the various paintings and sculptures scattered throughout the room. "What secrets does your love of art reveal Captain?" Thrawn paces the floor and as he touches many of the works of art when he stops in front of a painting of Clouds. He stares at the picture for a full minute, lost in its beauty when his eyes widen and he dives for a control console. He takes a deep breath and attempts to hold it, knowing that it is his only chance. But he is too late, the air in the room already has more of the toxin than oxygen. As his vision darkens around the edges and closes in, Thrawn's final thought is "if I had realized it only 10 seconds faster…" and then sleep takes him along with the entire fleet of the First Order.

**Chapter 17**

Ben and Rey dual furiously, as Rey yells at him. "Ben you have to find the peace! You have to fight him!" But her head is pounding as well and the voice is becoming overwhelming for her too. Finally in desperation she shouts, "Remember Anakin Skywalker!"

Ben freezes, closes his eyes and takes one cleansing breath. Then he turns towards the medical tank and moves with purpose in that direction. Rey screams in pain and holds her head and then takes her own deep calming breath and moves towards the cylinder. Ben and Rey both stop suddenly and as each of them attempt to move forward they move slowly as if they are weighted down or moving through water.

Inside the tank, there is a slight movement of the body's hand. Ben notices it and yells to Rey, "Look! Bridger just moved! I think he is having trouble keeping him at bay now that he is fighting us!"

Bridger's eyes flash open and he stares out at the world with shock and growing realization. He glances down at his broken body then jerks in pain as his headache matches that of the others. But Ben and Rey seem to be moving a bit better as they close the distance.

Then Bridger's arm raises towards the glass and the strange rectangular lightsaber lifts from the shelf it rests upon. Slowly it rotates in the air, and pauses for only a moment before firing a blaster bolt directly into the medical cylinder. Glass shatter and fluid pours from the tank carrying the body of Ezra Bridger with it.

"Rey, this is it!" Ben Shouts, "Keep him out of your head because Bridger isn't going to last long out of that tank!"

Ben grabs Rey's hand and together they pull themselves the last few feet to Ezra's side. The three Jedi now form a kneeling circle with Ben bearing the majority of Ezra's weight and each of the men placing an arm around Rey. They all close their eyes and instinctively begin to chant the same phrase to focus their energy. "We are one with the Force and the Force is with us!"

A great wind begins to rage in the enclosed cave. Each of the Jedi momentarily assumes an expression of rage that quickly vanishes as Plagueis desperately attempts to occupy one of their minds but is driven out. "We are one with the force and the force is with us!"

Blue lightning begins to travel around the tight Jedi circle engulfing one of them at a time, but passing over them harmlessly. "We are one with the Force and the Force is with us!" They chant louder now and the blue electricity moves with more and more velocity until it is a virtual tornado of sparks and color. A ring of dark shadow and blue - purple lightning forms and begins to rise above the Jedi circle. "We are one with the Force and the Force is with us!"

The circle of darkness slowly constricts to a ball above the Jedi and the three open their eyes to look at eachother. A peaceful calm comes over the group, even as the room around them is littered in a cyclone of debri and stones. Rey smiles at Ben and he returns the expression of calm and peace, the two look at Bridger who also seems to be feeling peace and relief that his body has awaited for decades.

The sphere of dark power compresses above their heads to a tiny spec and then explodes as a final scream echoes through the cave and is immediately silenced leaving the cave completely quiet.

Bridger collapses and sinks to his side on the floor. "Thank you." he whispers, "thank you for freeing me." His voice is weak and almost inaudible.

"Thank you," Ben says, "for helping us to defeat him."

Bridger nods and closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath and as he exhales a final time utters "Stand together, we are strongest as one." His body seems to sink a bit as it releases all of its tension and after only a few moments, begins to fade from view leaving behind hoses, cables and the clothing he wore, all which drop to the floor as one.

Rey and Ben embrace. "Thank you Rey." Ben squeezes her tight.

"What is family for?" Rey hugs him back tighter.

**Epilogue**

Poe walks away from a secure cell where Thrawn is sleeping heavily. "It will take days for all of these soldiers to wake up." He says to Lando as they walk down the hallway toward an exit.

"We will have quite a job on our hands trying to sort out the truly bad guys from those that were stolen from their families while young and forced into service." Lando contemplates aloud.

"Yeah, the First Order did some horrific things and people are going to want justice. It might be hard to keep it in check." Poe admits. "Lando, I have to ask, how did you get pulled into being a spy?"

"I don't like to talk about it, but we're friends Poe, so I will tell you in confidence." Lando waits for Poe to nod and then goes on, "The first order came to my home while I was away on business. They murdered my wife and stole my son. I have no idea what became of him, he could very well be one of these unconscious men we have just put into custody. I tried to track him a few times over the years, but it was a major risk that I would blow my cover and miss the opportunity to end the war. But it's my worst nightmare that in my years of service, I may have gotten him killed for all I know. "

"Do you know anything about his service assignments?" Poe asks.

"I had one lead on a stormtrooper a few years ago. I honestly hope I was wrong, because it would mean he absolutely is dead." Lando pauses, as they move out the security door and into the open air where a darkened sky is beginning to fill with fireworks to celebrate the end of war. "But if he was FN-2187, at least I know he went down with a fight."

Poe's eyes widen with shock and a smile slowly begins to grow across his face. Just then, Finn approaches Poe, beaming as he pulls Rose along behind him. "She said yes!" Finn announces to Poe.

"Congratulations you two!" Poe laughs and embraces them as Rose shows off her modest ring. "Listen, Finn, I need to go find someone but could you do me a favor? Lando here was just asking me how you got your name. Could you tell him that story for me?" He doesn't wait for an answer and disappears into the crowd with a glowing smile.

Not far away Ben Solo and Rey Skywalker sit on a bench watching the fireworks above them. Towering above them is Chewbacca who leans against the base of a memorial upon which a hologram of Leia Organa, slowly changes images from different times in her life.

"Now what?" Ben asks out loud.

"I'm not sure," Rey admits, "but I bet they'll help us figure it out." She turns her head to indicate behind them.

The two of them turn to see a gathering of Force ghosts. Rey sees Luke, Leia, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and several others that she doesn't recognize all gathered to celebrate this victory over the dark. To acknowledge the balancing of the Force.

As to what happens next she doesn't know, but she trusts that the Force will guide her. She can feel it Awakening more and more, coming alive in the galaxy around them, finally unhindered by the darkness.

**THE END**


End file.
